


Neighbours

by IveGotRedHair



Category: All Time Low
Genre: AU, Coughing, Fever, M/M, Sick Alex, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-15
Updated: 2015-04-15
Packaged: 2018-03-23 02:31:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3751039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IveGotRedHair/pseuds/IveGotRedHair
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack couldn't sleep because the person on the other side of the wall was dying.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Neighbours

It all started late at night on a Wednesday. Jack was half asleep in his bed, he’d been up most of the night playing online video games until exhaustion had taken over and he’d got his team killed. Jack turned over in the hopes of actually getting to sleep when he’s disturbed by the noise from next door once again. He groaned and put his pillow over his head in hopes of blocking out the sound of coughing. Jack didn’t know the person who lived on the other side of the wall but it sounded like they were dying and it was seriously getting in the way of Jack’s sleep. The fit finally ended and Jack sighed only to have another one start seconds later.   
“Fuck sake” Jack muttered, he pulled himself out of his nice warm bed and headed for the bathroom. It was obvious he wasn’t going to get any sleep until the person next door either died or had some medicine. Being Jack didn’t really fancy going to prison for murder he decided to see if he had any medicine.   
He found a mostly full bottle of cough syrup in his bathroom cabinet and figured that would do. He could have knocked on the door and just given it to the person but being they didn’t actually know each other somehow banging on their door at half three in the morning saying ‘your coughing is keeping me awake have medicine’ seemed a weird way to start. Jack scribbled down a quick note instead, something along the lines of ‘Sorry you don’t feel well, I thought this might help. Regards your neighbour’  
Jack left the medicine and the note outside the front door of his neighbour and knocked quiet loudly at the door before going back into his own apartment. He waited till he heard the sound of moving and eventually the noise of the door opening and closing before deciding it was probably safe to go back to bed.   
Jack fell straight asleep, not a sound was heard through the wall for the rest of the night. Unfortunately the same could not be said in the morning. 

It was midmorning by the time Jack heard something through the wall again. He was sitting on the couch in his living room, a guitar balanced on his as he tried to scribble down songs. The sound wasn’t coughing this name but someone sneezing, quite harshly by the sound of it. Jack thought he could ignore it, just turn up his speakers a little louder and carry on.   
He was only half way through his second song when the frustration set in, he was getting nowhere with the chorus of the song and next door wasn’t fucking helping. The continued sounds of sneezing, coughing and general miserable groaning noises were driving Jack up the wall. Throwing his lyric book down Jack went into the bathroom again, thinking maybe they’d be something else in there that could possibly help. He found an unopened bottle of Nyquil, a few packs of tissues and even some throat sweets. He seriously didn’t remember buying all this stuff, he wasn’t normally the one to get sick. His mum had probably stocked him up at some point or another. Jack might have lived on his own for nearly three years but his mother never quite stopped babying him. Jack wrote another note ‘Sorry you’re still dying, hope this helps, regards your neighbour’ before leaving the things outside his neighbours door. He knocked on the door again but didn’t go back to his own place, his stomach was grumbling so he planned a trip to Taco Bell, to reward himself for doing something nice for his neighbour. Jack had disappeared down the stairs by the time the door opened.   
When Jack returned, his favourite Taco Bell order in hand he noticed a note stuck to the outside of his neighbours door.   
‘Thank you kind neighbour, regards the not quite so dead person’   
Jack chucked at the note and let himself into his apartment. He smiled to himself as he ate, yeah so what if the reason he’d helped his neighbour out was totally selfish but hey if the person felt better everyone wins right? Jack thought so. Once he’d finished Jack got back to the work, the fresh air had helped him get unstuck with his song writing. 

With the exception of some sick noises the person on the other side of the wall was pretty much quiet for the rest of the day. Jack was able to finish a bunch of songs but for some reason he didn’t quite feel happy. Something was still nagging at him, the person who ever they were was obviously sick, like probably sick but they were alone. Jack hadn’t heard a single sound that would suggest there was more than one person on the other side of the wall and well Jack felt kind of sorry for them. Being sick sucked but being sick alone was worse. The sound of coughing started up again and Jack sighed, maybe there was something he could do yet.   
Jack may have lived in his apartment for three years but the person one of the other side of the wall hadn’t moved in that long ago, only a few months at most. Jack remembered the day he came home from work to find moving boxes stacked up outside the door. Though Jack had never seen the person he knew a little about them, with walls as thin as they were it was impossible not to catch little things here and there. He often heard music, things that were familiar to him like Blink 182, Green Day and Yellowcard. Sometimes he’d hear clips of movies, the name Bruce Wayne was often heard being yelled through the wall. Jack used these pieces of information to gather a few things, a couple of his favourite movies along with the Blink and Green Day live dvds. If that didn’t make someone feel better than nothing would. Jack wrote another note ‘In case you’re board’ not even bothering with saying who it was from, the kindly neighbour that was him. Jack dropped the stuff off outside the door and knocked again. Going back into his living room he saw he’d forgotten Home Alone, it was only the best movie ever. Grabbing it he hoped to put it with the others before the person opened the door. Jack had just placed the dvd on top the others when the door opened.   
“Hmm hi”   
Jack looked up at the person standing in the doorway. A boy was standing there, probably around Jack’s age with messy light brown hair and dark eyes. He looked obviously ill, nose and eyes tined red, face pale with the exception of rosy cheeks. There was a blanket wrapped around his shoulders like a cape but the boy had a sweet smile and Jack couldn’t help smiling back.   
“Hi” Jack replied.   
“You’re the one leaving me things?” the boy asked.   
“Guilty, it’s just I could hear you through the wall and you sounded so miserable...” Jack said, rushing al the words out in one go and hoping it somehow made sense.   
“Well thanks, it was very sweet...” the boy didn’t finish as he turned away and coughed into his arm.   
“You look like you need to sit down, you know before you pass out or somethin’”   
“Yeah...” the boy mumbled before stumbling back into his apartment.   
Jack was left standing there, the things in arms and the door still open. Unsure of what to do he decided to follow the boy back into the apartment. Jack found him sitting on a couch in the living room, the apartment almost matched Jack’s exactly in the way it was designed expect there was much less stuff than in Jack’s.  
“Sorry I had to sit down” the boy said.   
“No worries... I’m Jack by the way”   
“Alex”   
Alex... So the boy on the other side of the wall finally had a name. Alex, it suited him, short and cute.   
“So what ya bring me?” Alex asked.   
“Just some movies and stuff, I thought you might be a bad bored here on your own” Jack said, placing the things down on the coffee table in front of Alex.   
“Hey I’ve never seen Home Alone. Is it good?” Alex asked.   
“You’ve never seen... Oh my god it’s only the best movie ever!” Jack exclaimed.   
“Want to put it on then?”   
“Sure” Jack picked up the box and made his way to the tv.   
Alex curled up on the couch, moving the blanket so it was covering him. He was pretty sure he had a fever judging by how much his body temperature had been going up and down.   
“There you go” Jack said, as the title screen of the dvd lit up the screen.   
“Thanks Jack”   
“I should you know probably go...” Jack said, feeling awkward. He didn’t really know what to do next... Jack had never thought what would happen if the person found him let alone if that person turned out to be a cute boy, a cute boy who was obviously in need of some care.   
“Would you like to stay?” I mean I understand if you don’t want to, I don’t want to get you sick...” Alex asked, coughing harshly into his elbow again.   
Jack looked at Alex, all messy hair and fever bright eyes. He couldn’t leave him like that and plus it wasn’t like he could deny watching his favourite movie for the 1000th time.   
“Sure”   
Jack sat down at the other end of the couch to Alex, making sure the boy had enough room as he curled up with his blanket. Jack was about to press play on the movie when Alex began to cough again, his body nearly doubling over as coughed. Jack immediately to put his hand to Alex’s back, trying to help until the boy could breathe again. Jack noticed how hot Alex’s skin felt even through the t shirt he was wearing.   
“Shit that sounded bad, you okay?”   
“That hurt like a motherfucker...”   
Jack chuckled and noticed his hand was still on Alex’s back he quickly removed it.   
“Do you need anything? Water, medicine, a new pair of lungs?”   
“Medicine would be good” Alex said.   
“Where? I’ll get it for you”   
“Bedside table, I don’t think I need to tell you were the bedroom is”   
Alex chuckled until his voice cracked and he was left coughing again. Jack went through to the bedroom, the layout was the exact same as his own so he found the bedroom and the cough medicine easily. He also found a thermometer on the bedside table and decided to grab that too, Alex had felt too warm, way too warm. When he returned Alex was sat sniffling into a tissue, he looked pretty miserable and Jack frowned.   
“Here, this should help”   
Jack was sat next to him again, a cup of cough syrup in his hand. Alex smiled in thanks and swallowed the whole thing in one sickening gulp.   
“Still doesn’t taste any better”   
“Okay, open up” Jack said, holding out the thermometer.   
“We’ve only just met and you want to put things in my mouth?” Alex asked.   
Jack couldn’t help laughing, he’d never known someone so ill to have such a sense of humour.   
“First a thermometer next my dick”  
Jack seriously thought Alex was going to die from the noise he was making, somewhere between laughing, coughing and choking. By the time he stopped there were tears in his eyes.   
“Shit Jack”   
Jack smiled and slipped the device under Alex’s tongue where they both waited for it to bleep.   
“102, that’s kinda high. Do you have anything to bring it down with?” Jack asked.   
“Only Nyquil and that knocks me out and I want to watch the movie” Alex pouted. If he weren’t so sick Jack would’ve kissed him there and then.   
“Okay you can watch the movie but don’t go dying on me, okay?”   
“No dying, I promise”   
“Good, now let me introduce you to the masterpiece that is Home Alone!”  
They were only ten minutes in when Jack noticed Alex had begun shivering, his fever was in full force and was racking his body with chills. Jack didn’t say anything but put his arm around Alex’s shoulders and pulled him closer so he was sitting with his head on Jack’s chest.   
“I don’t want to get you sick...” Alex said, trying to move away but Jack pulled him closer.   
“S’okay I’ll risk it, you’re cute”   
“You think I’m cute?” Alex asked.   
“Yeah, that’s not why I did this. I wasn’t trying to seduce you or anything, this is the first time I’ve ever seen you. It was just I live on the other side of the wall and I couldn’t sleep last night because you were dying so much so I thought I could help. Sorry I’m rambling... But yeah I think you’re cute”   
“Aw Jack, well I think you’re sweet”   
“You do?”  
“And maybe a little bit crazy”   
“Yeah sorry about that...”   
“There are worse things, being sick for one” Alex complained.   
“How’re you feeling?” Jack asked.   
“I was feeling really horrible before but then this weird stranger ended up cuddling me on the couch and now I feel somewhat better”   
Jack chuckled and wrapped his arms around Alex’s waist. The boy had his head rested on Jack’s chest and Jack found his hand playing with Alex’s messy hair. They stayed like that as the movie played, Jack reciting his favourite parts as Alex laughed.   
By the time Kevin McAlister was reunited with his family Alex had fallen asleep. Jack wasn’t surprised, Alex had been coughing up a storm so Jack had finally forced some Nyquil into him and it really had knocked him out. With the credits still playing Jack picked up Alex, carefully putting his arms under the boy and holding him to his chest, slowly as not to wake him. Jack carried Alex to his bedroom and placed him on the bed, as genteelly as he could. Alex made some little noises but stayed asleep as Jack pulled the blankets over him. Jack pushed Alex’s hair away from his face and put his hand to the boy’s forehead, it was warm but not as overly hot as before. Jack didn’t leave straight away, he just watched Alex sleep for a moment. He never thought that the person on the other side of his apartment wall would be someone so adorable. Jack had been alone for a long time and maybe Alex was the person to change that. Before he left the sick boy to rest Jack wrote another note and left it on Alex’s bedside table.   
‘You’re really cute, even when you’re sick. Would you like to go on a date with me? Regards your neighbour’ 

That night the boy next door ran through Jack’s dreams and that time Jack didn’t mind the person on the other side of the wall disturbing his sleep. He was woken to someone knocking at his door, at first he tried to ignore it but then he heard the door to Alex’s apartment close. Jack makes his way to the door, smiling as he remembered the dreams he’d had. He opens the door and finds a piece of paper on the floor at his feet.   
‘Can we skip the date and go straight to making out? Okay maybe when I’m less dead yeah? But I would love to go on a date with you  
Regards your boyfriend’   
Jack was knocking at Alex’s door, the note held tightly in his hand as he read the words over and over.   
“Ja...” Alex didn’t get to finish his sentence before Jack had wrapped his arms around his waist and pressed a kiss to his lips. At first Alex didn’t know how to react, opening to the door to straight away be kissed wasn’t what he was expecting but slowly he kissed back, until his chest started aching again and Alex has to pull away to cough into his arm.   
“What did you do that for? You’re going to get sick now!” Alex exclaimed.   
“I just really wanted to kiss you...”  
“You’re an idiot, I shouldn’t kiss you again as punishment”   
“I’m an idiot I know but I couldn’t not kiss you” Jack said, giving his puppy dog eyes.   
“Well being you’re already going to get sick I don’t spouse there’s any harm in...”   
Alex didn’t get to finish again before Jack was kissing him. Alex hands found their way to Jack’s waist and Jack’s fingers tangled in Alex’s bed hair.   
That’s how it Jack gets with the boy on the other side of the wall, by making out in the hallway to their apartments.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi,   
> Yep there's another one! I really liked this prompt so I had to give it a try, if you have ideas I'd love to hear them :)   
> Thank you!


End file.
